/42_1.jpg)
Vratsa (old parallel form Vratsa) is the largest city in
Northwestern Bulgaria with a population as of 2019 of 51,674 people.
Administrative and economic center of the eponymous municipality of
Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of
Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana.
Located at the foot of the
Vratsa Balkans, the city is a starting point for many caves,
waterfalls and interesting rock formations. The most famous among
them are the Ledenika cave, the Skaklya waterfall and the Vratsata
pass.
The Rogozen treasure, which is the largest Thracian
treasure, is kept in Vratsa. The Botev Days are held annually in the
town, culminating in the rally-fireworks on June 1, held on Hristo
Botev Square, as well as the national pilgrimage on June 2 on
Okolchitsa Peak.
The motto of Vratsa is "A city like the
Balkans - ancient and young". Vratsa is the only city in Bulgaria
where since 2017 the movement of carts on the streets within the
city is prohibited.
Antiquity
Archaeologists have discovered the presence of
people in these places as early as the second millennium BC. The
found copper and bronze tools, weapons and jewelry say that since
ancient times the local miners and foundries have turned the
underground resources of the mine "Plakalnitsa" into tools. With
these tools the Thracian tribe of tribals sought the fertility of
the plain and the wealth of the mountain. With the weapons forged
here, the tribes successfully defended themselves against the
invasions of Illyrian and Scythian tribes. It can be assumed that in
the Thracian tombs discovered near Vratsa were buried the fallen
leaders of the tribes in defense of their lands from the attacks of
Philip II or his son Alexander the Great. The rich treasure in the
tomb says that a large Thracian settlement flourished here. Even
more - it is assumed that Vratsa was the capital of the tribes.
When the Romans came here, they first looked up at the mountain,
at the copper mines. And they connected their destiny with this
wealth and with the sheer rocks of the gorge by the river Leva,
where a Roman mining settlement with a mint for bronze coins arose.
To protect this rich region from invaders, the Romans built a strong
fortress at Vratsata over the river Leva. Probably the fortress of
Valve (Βαλβαί) mentioned by Procopius, which in Latin means
"two-winged door", is the same fortress at Vratsa.
Antiquity
As early as around 6000 BC. there was life in the Vratsa lands. The
locals were mainly engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. In a
later period they began to engage in pottery. Ceramics with specific
inscriptions were found in the village of Gradeshnitsa, which are
considered to be one of the oldest in Europe. At the same time, the
development of copper ore mining began.
In the period around
VI-VII century BC. on the territory of today's Vratsa the tribes
began to settle. It is assumed that this is where their capital was.
The Tribals were a special and warlike tribe. In 425 BC. defeated
the Odrysians, and then even the army of Philip II. In 335 BC. they
also fought against Alexander the Great and later became his allies.
It is assumed that from this period dates one of the largest
treasures ever discovered in the Bulgarian lands, and the largest
Thracian treasure, namely - Rogozen treasure. It was discovered in
1985. It can be assumed that the collection of 165 silver vessels
was owned by a local Thracian ruler from the tribal tribe. On some
of the vessels are engraved various gift inscriptions, from which we
learn the names of various Thracian rulers and the master goldsmiths
who made the vessels. The phials have the largest share - a total of
108 in number. This is twice as many as all the phials in museums in
Europe.
In the VI-IV century BC. in the vicinity of Vratsa
there was a large cultural, economic and political center Saldocela,
but in the III century BC. things are changing significantly here.
The tribes suffered severe defeats from the Celts, and later in 179
and 168 BC. were ruined by the Germanic tribe Bastarni. In 29 BC.
some of the local Thracian rulers became allies of the Romans in
order to strengthen their personal power, but this generally
weakened the resistance of the tribes and their neighboring tables
against the Roman invaders. It was not long before Marc Licinius
Crassus succeeded in defeating them, but the coming winter forced
him to return to his base in the province of Macedonia, inflicting
considerable losses along the way.
The beginning of Roman
expansion in these lands began in 28 BC. For a period of nearly 400
years, Vratsa was part of the Roman Empire.
The Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages the town was named Vratitsa. It is an early
Slavic form of the diminutive door, door, door, door. This name is
an expression of the area itself, representing a narrow mountain
pass, similar to a gate. The settlement was important during the
Second Bulgarian State. It expanded its territory and became a craft
center, with developed commodity-money relations.
According
to legends, during the Ottoman invasion, using the natural
capabilities of the area and the strong walls of the fortress, Radan
Voivoda successfully defended himself for a long time. During the
years of Turkish rule, Vratsa was a garrison and roadside
settlement, repeatedly devastated and rebuilt. It was first damaged
by the Wallachian ruler Mihai Vityaz in 1596, and later (at the
beginning of the 19th century), during the reign of Osman
Pazvantoglu, the town became an arena of battle between the Vidin
feudal lord and the sultan's troops.
In the Ottoman tax
register from 1553, kept in the Oriental Department of the National
Library "St. St. Cyril and Methodius ”- Sofia, the city is mentioned
under the name Uvraj.
Revival
Towards the end of the 18th and especially in the 19th
century, Vratsa became a major craft, trade and administrative
center. Its products (abadjistvo, tannery and goldsmithing) reached
Lyon, Vienna, Bucharest and Constantinople. By the middle of the
19th century, the town had 2,500 houses.
All this affects the
spiritual life of the city. Temples, schools, beautiful houses are
being built. Sophrony of Vratsa worked here. A famous event is the
attempt to remove the Greek clergyman Methodius, made by an angry
mob in 1824 - one of the attempts to establish a modern Bulgarian
church during the Renaissance.
Vratsa was also the center of
the third revolutionary district during the April Uprising, with
Chief Apostle Stoyan Zaimov. However, an uprising did not break out
in the district due to the large number of Ottoman troops
concentrated in the region in anticipation of war with Serbia and
the cowardice of local committee members.
The city was
liberated from Turkish rule on November 9, 1877. Vratsa is the first
free city in northwestern Bulgaria.
After the Liberation
After the liberation of the Bulgarian lands from Ottoman rule in
1878, the city of Vratsa became part of the newly established
Principality of Bulgaria. It established itself as a significant
production center, in which traditional craftsmanship grew into a
modern industry for its time. In 1896 an experimental sericulture
station was opened in the town - the oldest research institution in
Bulgaria in the field of agriculture. It was soon reorganized and
grew into a state model silk mill. The quality of the silk produced
in Vratsa finds international recognition. In 1903, the first in
Bulgaria school of silk weaving and weaving for silk fabrics was
established at the Demonstrative Silkworm.
Mito Orozov from
Vratsa, on the basis of the traditional for the city
cart-iron-making, established in 1883 an enterprise for the
production of vehicles - two-wheelers, convertibles, carriages, cars
for commercial purposes and sledges. He received a gold medal for
his work at the first Bulgarian exhibition in Plovdiv in 1892. Soon
Mito Orozov's production became widespread not only in Bulgaria but
also on the Balkan Peninsula. Henry Ford was also interested in the
models of the self-taught master, who defined him as "a person of
European scale, mind and knowledge."
The town of Vratsa and
its surroundings have been famous as a wine production center since
the Bulgarian Revival. After the establishment of the Principality
of Bulgaria in the region there are conditions for intensive
development of viticulture. Vratsa wines are also recognized abroad.
At the international competition for wines and liqueurs in 1896 in
Brussels, Stefan Kraskyov from Vratsa received a special award and
diploma.
In the early years of the twentieth century, the
city was known for its enduring support for the Progressive Liberal
Party.
On September 30, 1923, after a fire in a military
warehouse that affected ammunition concealed by the Treaty, a large
part of the city burned down. According to some data, 500 houses
were set on fire, a large part of the bazaar was destroyed. On
October 1, 1923, a month of mourning was declared.
Vratsa
suffered from the bombings during the Second World War.
After
1944
In 1966 Vratsa was affected by a flood. During the May Day
Labor Day, the dike of the Mir tailings pond (near the southern end
of the village of Zgorigrad) of the lead-zinc mines Plakalnitsa in
the Vratsa Balkan broke, as a result of which Zgorigrad and the
extreme southwestern neighborhoods with the center of Vratsa were
flooded. of 450 000 m³ mass of water, mud, stones, trees with
poisonous sediments of heavy metals and cyanides. Officially then,
107 people were reported dead, according to later estimates, more
than 500 people were killed, 2,000 people were injured and more than
150 houses were destroyed.
Vratsa after 1990
In 2003, the
fertilizer plant "Himko" finally stopped its activities, as well as
most of the major pollutants, which dramatically improved the
environmental situation in the city. In this new environment, the
development of Vratsa as a tourist destination is becoming one of
the main priorities of the Municipality of Vratsa.
The town of Vratsa is located at the foot of Vratsa
Mountain. Vratsa is a starting point to the gorge Vratsata and the
Ledenika cave. The city is located 370 m above sea level. The
northernmost residential and industrial districts of the city are at
340 m above sea level, while the southernmost, along the Leva, are
at 400 m above sea level.
Vratsa has beautiful surroundings.
To the south are the gray-violet rocks of the Vratsa Mountains, to
the north, above the low stone plateau with soft and rounded land
forms, Milin Kamak rises, and to the east the low peaks of the
Veslets hill alternate.
The climate of Vratsa is moderately continental, formed mainly under the influence of ocean air masses from temperate latitudes, which invade mainly from the west and northwest. The steep slopes of Stara Planina weaken the influence of the Mediterranean cyclones and sometimes create conditions for moderate and strong Fon winds (warm winds descending from the northern mountain slopes). Together with the hills of Veslets and Milin Kamak, preconditions are created for temperature inversions, frequent fogs and prevailing northwest winds. The winter in the city is cold and the summer is hot. The highest average monthly temperature is characterized by July (22.2 ° C), and the lowest - January (-1.9 ° C). The May / June maximum and the February minimum of the precipitation and the influence of Stara Planina are well expressed. The number of days with snow cover is 55. In the Vratsa Mountains this number is significantly higher and the snow cover usually reaches 80 - 100 cm.